


Sealing the Deal

by KingofTerrors



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-28
Updated: 2018-03-28
Packaged: 2019-04-14 06:22:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14129973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KingofTerrors/pseuds/KingofTerrors
Summary: Jester meets The Traveler, and for better or worse, they are bound together, worshipper and deity, from now until... who knows.





	Sealing the Deal

**Author's Note:**

> This is an outworking of some of my fears about Jester's relationship with The Traveler. I'm intrigued by how he seems so sketchy to me, yet so good to others - this is my chance to explore those feelings. There'll be some angst, for sure, but let's see how it all works out. My first fic in decades, so... be gentle!

Jester was crying. No that there was anyone to see. Not that anyone should care. It wasn’t even like it was an unjust punishment. From the very first second she’d thought it out, she knew what would happen if she was caught. She deserved it. Her mom had warned her before about so much as being seen when guests were in the house. The thing was, it had so almost been worth it. She’d almost gotten away with it! When the Ruby of the Sea’s latest suitor, an older, white bearded portly gentleman, had sunk down onto one of the gilded chaises, only to spring up again with a shout of pain and a pincushion embedded in his fat posterior, Jester thought her head would explode from suppressing the cackling laughter that welled up inside her.

But then it happened. A heavy hand clamped down on her shoulder, and she looked up into the face of Larsson, one of the house’s footmen. Her grin faded. The man’s sense of humour was well known throughout the household. He had none.

The smooth tones of her mother soothing the ruffled pride of fat old Lord Whatshisface receded into the background as she was dragged upstairs by the stone-faced Larsson, her ear feeling like it was going to be wrenched off her head. Thrown into her room. And the door locked. The sound of the key was the last straw. Jester had flung herself into a corner, curled up, and then the tears just… came. It had almost been worth it. Almost. It had been three days last time. How long would it be this time?

She wasn’t sure how much time had passed when there was a soft knock at the door. Jester stared at it, uncomprehending. Nobody _knocked_ on her door.

The sound came again, a gentle but insistent tapping.

Jester rubbed her forearm across her eyes, trying to scrub away the tears, and swallowed down a hiccoughing breath. “W… who is it?”

“A friend.” It was a man’s voice, deep and rich. Such a _warm_ voice.

Jester struggled on to her knees and crawled over to the door, kneeling beside the smooth beechwood planks, leaning her shoulder against the wood. “I don’t have any friends.”

“Wouldn’t you like one?”

“Y… yes.”

“Well then.” He chuckled. There was a moment of silence, then… “Can I come in?”

“The door’s locked.”

“Huh. And the key’s in the hands of that oafish footman, I presume?”

“Yes.”

A dismissive snort. “No matter. The key isn’t important, child. What is far more important is your consent. Now… can I come in?”

Jester stared at the wood of the door as if she could burn through it with the sheer force of her mind. What was going on? But she had never been one to say no to a new experience…

“Of course. Please come in, kind stranger.”

“So kind.” The voice was behind her.

Whatever Jester had been expecting would happen next, it wasn’t this. She spun around to face the interior of the room, and there, standing before the pink silken curtains of her four-poster bed, was a hooded figure. His cloak was long, dark green, the folds of the hood concealing any features within its shadows. He bowed, deeply, a hand at his waist.

Jester scrambled to her feet, more aware than ever of her tear-stained face and rumpled skirts. “I… who… how…”

He took a single swift step towards her, his hands sweeping out to grasp her own, clasping them firmly. “All in good time, little one. But first, let me be a stranger to you no longer. I am the Traveller. And I have come to be your friend.”

Jester’s voice was little more than a squeak. “…w…why me?”

The Traveller laughed again, a full-throated laugh this time, his head thrown back. “Oh Jester, how could it not be you? Your joy, your tricks, the potential that you hold… Indeed. I felt your mischief, and along with it, your loneliness and need. I felt them and I knew I couldn’t rest until we were friends.”

Jester felt her heart tighten within her as the Traveller continued. “You’re not alone anymore, child. I will be with you.”


End file.
